->''"I started playing around noon and [[JustOneMoreLevel emerged sometime later from my room to find that the authorities had declared me legally dead]]."''-->--'''[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw]]''' reviews '''''Peggle'''''

''Peggle'' is a highly addictive series of puzzle games from developer Creator/PopCapGames, available for purchase via Valve's {{Steam}} service and Microsoft's Xbox Games Store.

The goal is simple: you're given ten balls and you have to knock out all the orange pegs on the screen by bouncing the ball off the various pieces of scene geometry. Succeed, and you're off to the next level. Beat all the regular levels and you can then try your hand at the challenges, which are the same levels, but with certain conditions that must be met to beat the challenge. Conditions include getting a certain minimum score (harder than it sounds), playing a variation of the usual level with more orange pegs than normal, or clearing every single peg to name the three most common ones.

The Peggle series currently consists of six games:

* ''Peggle Deluxe'': The original game. 55 levels and 75 challenges.** ''Peggle'' (iPod): An iPod port of ''Peggle Deluxe'' that is identical gameplay-wise, but features numerous minor visual modifications to suit the iPod's capabilities as well as providing 12 balls on level start instead of 10. All the same levels and challenges as ''Deluxe''. Sold only through the iTunes Store.* ''Peggle Extreme'': A sort of demo version of the game originally released as part of Valve's Orange Box, it contains unique levels themed for ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}'', ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', and ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' and an extra VideoGame/{{Counter-Strike}} themed level. 10 levels and 5 challenges. '''Available for free''' on [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/3483/ Steam]].* ''Peggle Nights'': Dream themed game. 60 new levels and 60 challenges. * ''Peggle VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': Like ''Extreme'', but for ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. [[http://www.popcap.com/promos/pegglewow/ Also available for free.]]* ''Peggle [[FunWithAcronyms Dual Shot]]'': The NintendoDS version of the game. Contains all of the levels from ''Peggle Deluxe'' and ''Peggle Nights'', a new "bonus underground" mode, and a collection of new levels featuring art from Creator/QEntertainment.* ''Peggle 2'': Released December of 2013 and so far the latest installment. Has a new animated visual style, new levels, and five new Peggle Masters (Bjorn and later on via DLC Jimmy Lightning are the only returning [playable] Masters thus far), each with their own leitmotifs and abilities.

----!!'''Tropes used:'''

* AllJustADream: The premise of ''Peggle Nights''.* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Claude's stages in ''Nights''.* [[BigWhat Big "WHAAAAAAAAAT?!"]]: Making an exceptionally good score in a single shot in ''Blast'' gets you this (in the same choir-like manner as the other ones, amusingly).* BoringButPractical: Some of the more basic specials, like the Super Guide and the Pyramid, can definitely come in handy on some levels.* BossRush: One of the challenges revolves around beating consecutive Peggle Master duels.* BowlingForRatings: Splork's obsession with round things naturally leads him to bowling in his stage in ''Nights''. His [=WoW=] getup also contains a staff topped with a bowling ball.* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: The game's AI. Even watching Demo Mode is convincing enough. Heck, just shoot a Zen Ball to see it--one of the few times you can actually use this to your advantage.* CuteKitten: Kat Tut, and in ''Nights'', Lord Cinderbottom's stages consist of him saving the cats and kittens of a town from a fire.* ExcusePlot: The game's narrative premise is that you are learning to play Peggle at the famous Peggle Institute, and therefore must play endless levels of Peggle. One wonders who is willing to fund such a programme* {{Fireballs}}: Lord Cinderbottom's powerup - ''a big freaking ball 'o fire''.* GranolaGirl: Tula....which kinda makes sense in a way, since she's a ''flower''. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Tula herself in the opening of one of her levels:-->I think it's important to be ''environmentally aware''. That's why I only drive a car made of [[BreakingTheFourthWall imaginary floating bricks]]!* HarderThanHard: The AI difficulty levels are Easy, Normal, Hard, and Master. * LimitBreak: '''''[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Extreme Fever ]]''''' * LuckBasedMission:** It's easy for levels to devolve into whether you can land in the bucket twice in a row.** The placement of pegs at the start of a level may cause players to just go right ahead and hit restart if things like green pegs are in impossible locations, or if certain orange pegs are in obscure areas.* MentorMascot: Bjorn* MissionPackSequel: ''Nights'' added one more Peggle master and Ace medals, but it's essentially 60 more levels and 60 more challenges.* MundaneMadeAwesome: Once you get the last orange peg, the game goes into super-close-up, super-slow-motion on the ball while [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's Ninth Symphony]] belts out at full blast, almost as if you had just ''achieved world peace by kicking cancer right in the gonads''.* NintendoHard* NoAntagonist: Played straight except in ''Extreme'', ''World of Warcraft'', and ''Blast''. The latter introducing [[EvilCounterpart Fnord]].* PunctuatedForEmphasis: The "Even. More. Cheevos." achievement in ''2''.* RandomEffectSpell: Warren's special ability.* ShockAndAwe: Marina.* ShoutOut:** In the original ''Peggle'', Chuzzles are scattered around Splork's stages, and in ''Nights'', Warren reads 'Z-U-M-A' off a statue description. Both ''VideoGame/{{Chuzzle}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Zuma}}'' are other games made by PopCap.** For a ShoutOut to something not made by PopCap, look no further than Kat Tut referencing the "[[SaturdayNightLive More]] [[ChristopherWalken Cowbell]]" sketch and the following said by Master Hu in ''Nights'':---> ''[[{{Tommy}} Ever since I was a young owl,]]''--->'' [[TheWho I bounced the silver ball…]]''*** Heck, Master Hu's band in his dream is even called "The Hu".** If you pull off a particularly awesome shot, Jimmy Lightning will pop out and yell a TotallyRadical phrase in much the same way that Dan Forden does in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat''. This isn't a coincidence, either; one of his phrases is actually "Toasty!"* SeriousBusiness: The ExcusePlot of the game is that you're at "Peggle Academy" being taught by "Peggle Masters". Why there's an entire academy set up to teach people how to throw silver balls around is beyond understanding.* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Tula vs. 9 male masters (presumably Renfield the pumpkin and Splork the alien are male) in the original. ''Nights'' added a second girl in Marina.** For ''Peggle 2'', it's Luna vs. 4 male masters.* StandardSnippet: ** The opening theme is "Morning Mood" from ''Peer Gynt''** Recognize Renfield's theme? That music that plays when you activate a Spooky Ball is Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor.** The victory theme is "Ode to Joy."* StrangeSyntaxSpeaker: Splork's application of Earth-English provokes interest, for certain.* SugarApocalypse: Preventing this is the ExcusePlot of Peggle Extreme, more or less.* ToBeAMaster: The player's role in the in-game story.* TotallyRadical: Jimmy Lightning. Even when he isn't the assist character he'll still butt in occasionally to remark how "tubular" that shot was.* VideoGameTutorial: A subtle one. The first character you meet is Bjorn, whose special skill explicitly shows the player how the ball will bounce after striking the first target. Lining up shots for favorable second and subsequent bounces is the entire point of Peggle; Bjorn's special skill is really just training wheels for the shots you'll need to make later on.----